The Iberian Horse: From Europe to America

The Iberian Horse: From Europe to America Le Superbe, a Spanish Horse, from the Duke of Wellington's: A General System of Horsemanship

A Distinguished Following:The Patrons and Admirers Francois Robichon de la Gueriniere James I Carthusian Monks Philip I-IV Henry VIII Louis XIV William Cavendish Duke of Newcastle Charles I Charles V

In Praise of Excellence

A modern day “fair and good” horseman Portrait of James I 'The honourablest and most commendable games that ye can use are on horseback; for it becometh a Prince better than any other man to be a fair and good horseman' ~ King James I (Loch 78)‏ While Henry VIII forbade the exportation of horses to Scotland, as ruler of a unified Scotland and England, King James I further promoted the Spanish horse and equitation in his kingdom.

Emperor Charles V astride his Spanish Jennet/ European Warmblood hybrid. Charles V greatly advanced the development of the Iberian Horse.

‏ Portrait of the Duke of Newcastle, from his book: A General System of Horsemanship “The Duke of Newcastle was such a world famous man... he may quite justly be called the pre-eminent horseman of his time.” ~ Von Solleysel, (Loch 90)‏

Portrait of Charles I “The horse of Spayne is finelie made, both head, bodie and legs, and very seemlie to the eie, saving that his buttocks be somewhat slender, and for his making lightness and swiftness withal, he is very much esteemed, especiallie of noble men” ~Thomas Blundeville (Loch 75)‏

Portrait of Charles I, 1633 “The Spanish horse is the noblest in the world ... and the most beautiful ... and the fittingest of all for a king in his day of triumph.' ~William Cavendish Duke of Newcastle (1592-1676) (Loch 91)‏

“The Genettes have a wonderful active walk, a high trot, an admirable canter and an exceptionally fast racing gallop. In general they are not very big but there are nowhere better bred horses. I have heard extraordinary tales of their courage” ~ Jacques de Solleysel, Master of the Horse to Louis XIV 1664 Portrait by Nicolaes Berchem (1620-1683), Landscape with Two Horses Depiction of the Spanish Jennet

“I have heard some of the Spaniards to set such praise on their jennet's courage, as they have not letted to report, that they have carried their riders out of the field, I cannot tell how manie miles, after the jennets themselves have been shot cleane through the bodies with harquebushes” ~ Thomas Blundeville, from his book: The Fower Cheifest Offyces of Horsemanshippe (Lock 33)‏ Jennets at the surrender of Granada A contemporaneous altar retablo 1492

“Horses are the most necessary thing in the New Country because they frighten the enemy most, and after God, to them belongs the victory” ~ Pedro de Castaneda de Nagera Another Conquistador: Juan de Onate (1552-1626)‏ Statue by Reynaldo Rivera

“I wish to put down, from memory, all the horses and mares that we disembarked” ~ Bernal Diaz del Castillo “Captain Cortes had a dark chestnut stallion which died when we reached San Juan Ulua... Alonzo Hernandez Puertocarrero, a grey mare. She was fast, and Cortes bought her for him for a gold shoulder knot... Christoval de Olid had a dark brown horse that was very satisfactory... Francisco de Morla, a dark bay horse which was very fast and had a good mouth... Gonzala Dominguez, an excellent horseman, had a dark brown horse, very good, and very fast... Baena, from La Trinidad, had a piebald with white forefeet; he proved worthless... Ortiz, the musician, and Bartolome Garcia, who had gold mines, had a black horse called El Arriero [Drover]. He was one of the best horses that we took aboard the fleet...” Loch 210-211

By Royal Decree “Among the persons which we order to go in the above-mentioned armada we have agreed that twenty lancers, jinetes, are to sail with the horses. Therefore, we mandate that from among the persons of the Holy Brotherhood living in this Kingdom of Granada, the above- mentioned twenty horsemen should be selected. They shall be steadfast and loyal men and shall sail eagerly. Five of them shall bring spare horses, and those spare horses shall be mares” ~ Royal Decree from King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella 23 May, 1493, (Bennett 152)

“The races of horses in all the principalities and provinces of the Indies discovered by the Spanish from 1492 until now, are of the race of mares and stallions of Spain, particularly of Andalucia” ~ Garcilaso de la Vega, early 16th century Peruvian author (Bennett 159)‏ “No part of the Island of Espanola originally had horses; they were bred from the very first mares and stallions brought here from Spain” ~ Oviedo, 16th century eyewitness (Bennett 171)‏

“By the middle of the seventeenth century, English, French, Portugese, and Dutch colonists were also bringing to the New World the forms of horse - “races” as Cabrerera correctly refers to them – which are proper to their respective countries; but for centuries most American horses were fundamentally Spanish, not only because the colonization of the New World was mainly Spanish, but also because colonists of every nationality sought out Spanish bloodstock – for the Spanish horse of the reigns of Charles V and Philip II was considered to be the finest in the world” ~ (Bennett 167)‏

Colonial Equine Economics “Idyllic climate, green pastures, and an initial lack of parasites and predators all contributed to a huge population explosion of horses in the Caribbean during the 16th century. Pacing the conquest, Spaniards established studs on many islands. However, many of these were run by officious bureaucrats interested primarily in their own gain. In a ploy to establish a monopoly on trade, greedy Espanolan officials hastened to create laws forbidding the export of mares from the islands. This not only hindered commerce, but crippled the efforts of conquistadors such as Hernan Cortes, who in 1518 found himself snarled in red tape and burdened with inflated prices when he tried to obtain horses for his expedition to Mexico” (Bennett 171).

Royal Capitulations “To cut red tape, Charles V began to cede supplies directly to each of the Conquistadors, by means of royal documents called capitulations. These were contracts which authorized their enterprises and specified the number of horses they had a right to requisition from Crown – owned ranches operating on the islands. For example, to enable Francisco Pizarro to outfit himself for the conquest of Peru in 1532, Charles authorized him to take horses from the Jamaican royal stud. As New World horse populations increased, however, the number of such requisitions became fewer” (Bennett 172).

Royal Intervention and an Ironic Result “The Crown soon revoked these Espanolan laws, and horses promptly expanded onto new islands” (Benett 171). However, as 16th century eyewitness Oviedo noted, this abundance of horses and ease of acquirement triggered an economic reversal. Instead of hyper-inflation, the horse market underwent a serious devaluation: “...And there are now so many that there isn't any need to search for them or to bring them from another area ... And so it has come to pass that the value of a colt or a mare bred in this island is [$50 to $150]... or less” (Bennett 171-172).

The Beginning of a New Era “In 1519 Cortes invaded the mainland. His horse was the first to set foot on the North American continent in 10,000 years, yet only ten years later, the Mesta – the Mexican cattlemens' organization – found it necessary to write its first charter of rules concerning brand registration and loose livestock: the mustangs had already made a start... Even before Cortes' arrival in Mexico, horses were being bred in Central America... in what is now Panama, and from there they spread into Columbia and the llanos of Venezuela. Horses were exported from Peru to Chile and finally to Argentina, where on the pampas their numbers exploded as they had already done nearly everywhere else” (Bennett 172). The Horse had returned to forever change the history and way of life of the American Continent. Come from Spanish ships, they became an integral part of our modern heritage.

Sources: Loch, Sylvia: The Royal Horse of Europe, J.A. Allen & Co Ltd, Great Britain, 2007 Bennett, Deb, Ph.D: Conquerors: The Roots of New World Horsemanship Amigo Publications, Inc. USA, 1998 Photographic Image Credits (in order of appearance): www.bloodlines.net (Le Superbe)‏ www.middletemple.org/uk (James I)‏ www.artisticdressage.com (Gueriniere)‏ www.allposters.co.uk (Carthusian monks)‏ www.allposters.com (Philip IV)‏ www.allposters.com ( Henry VIII)‏ www.commons.wikimedia.org (Louis XIV)‏ www.thepeerage.com (William Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle)‏

Sources, Continued: www.lovelyoldtree.wordpress.com (Charles I)‏ www.commons.wikimedia.org (Charles V)‏ b&w photograph by Isabel Miscoe (Andalusian Stallion)‏ b&w photgraph by Isabel Miscoe (Andalusian Stallion)‏ www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk (James I)‏ www.allposters.com (Charles V)‏ www.lombardmaps.com (William Cavendish Duke of Newcastle)‏ www.flickr.com (Charles I)‏ www.shafe.co.uk (Charles I)‏ www.spanishjennet.org (portrait of Spanish Jennets)‏ www.frankhopkins.com (engraving of Spanish Jennets)‏ www.learnnc.org (equestrian statue of Juan de Onate)‏

The Iberian Horse: From Europe to America